Software:The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes

From HandWiki
Short description: 1992 adventure video game
The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes
Cover art by John Jinks[1]
Developer(s)Mythos Software
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
Producer(s)Christopher Erhardt[1]
Designer(s)R. J. Berg[2]
Programmer(s)Scott Cronce[1]
Artist(s)Nancy L. Fong[1]
Writer(s)Eric Lindstrom[3]
Composer(s)Rob Hubbard[2]
Platform(s)MS-DOS, 3DO
ReleaseFall 1992 (MS-DOS)
1994 (3DO)
Genre(s)Graphic adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes (fully titled The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Serrated Scalpel) is an adventure game developed by Mythos Software and published by Electronic Arts for MS-DOS in 1992 and 3DO in 1994. A sequel was developed and published by the same respective companies in 1996 titled The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Rose Tattoo.

Plot

In November 1888, Sherlock Holmes is engaged by Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard to help with the murder investigation of a young actress, Sarah Carroway. She was killed outside a theatre in the Mayfair area of London. Lestrade thinks the manner of her death shows that this is another strike by Jack the Ripper, but Holmes believes someone else committed the crime. It appears that the victim was killed with an unusual knife, one shaped like a scalpel but with a serrated blade.

The investigation takes Holmes and Dr. Watson to many parts of late 19th century London, including a perfume shop, the zoological gardens, the morgue, a pub, Scotland Yard, Surrey Commercial Docks, Savoy Street Pier, St Pancras railway station, and of course 221B Baker Street. They encounter a number of characters connected to the case and also get assistance from Inspector Gregson, the leader of the Baker Street Irregulars named Wiggins, and the invaluable tracking dog Toby.

Gameplay

The player moves around London via an elaborate overview map. Additional locations become available when Holmes finds additional leads. In each location, the player can select nine different verbal options to interact with objects or people. When accessing the inventory menu, the player has three different verbal actions to manipulate any items Holmes has picked up. When talking to people, Holmes has different dialogue options to gain information or try to get their cooperation. Dr. Watson can give his views, which may serve as puzzle hints. He may even help Holmes to perform an action he cannot do alone. Dr. Watson's journal also references the events in the gameplay.

The graphics are VGA, with MIDI music and a few scenes with digitalized speech (in the intro and end sequence, and the cutscene at St Pancras Station. In the other scenes there are sound effects, but no speech). The player interacts with the characters through a command menu with verb icons that is intuitive for anyone who had played other adventure games of the period. The 3DO version consists of full voiced dialogue and the portraits of the talkers were replaced by clips with filmed actors, but also drops Dr. Watson's journal feature.

In the video clips in the 3DO version, Sherlock Holmes was played by David Ian Davies,[4] and Dr. Watson was played by Laurie Main.[5]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
EGM6.6/10 (3DO)[6]
PC Zone48% (DOS)[7]
3DO MagazineStarStar (3DO)[8]

Computer Gaming World's Charles Ardai wrote that "The Case of the Serrated Scalpel tells an unusually good story and is filled to the brim with audio-visual niceties, but ... it is not a game ... just a series of animated vignettes". He gave as example how the computer, not the player, chooses the chemicals and tools in Holmes' laboratory. Ardai concluded that "this game wants, more than anything else in the world, to be a Sherlock Holmes movie. Though it would be a very good one if it were, it is not. Therefore, it is deeply and resoundingly unsatisfying ... as a game it is simply, regrettably, another misfire in the Sherlock Holmes canon".[9]

Computer Games Strategy Plus named The Case of the Serrated Scalpel its best adventure game of 1992. The magazine's Theo Clarke wrote: "This game wins for the sophistication of its controls and the sheer scale of the game. It is not simply that there are many locations and many characters. The point is that all of these elements combine to form a satisfying whole".[10]

The reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly wrote of the 3DO version: "Great graphics, excellent sound effects – this game really shows off the system's capabilities while providing a challenging mystery". They scored it a 6.6/10 average.[6]

In 2011, Adventure Gamers named Case of the Serrated Scalpel the 22nd-best adventure game ever released.[11]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes - Manual (MS-DOS)". 1995. https://archive.org/details/lost-files-of-sherlock-holmes-msdos-manual/page/n25/mode/2up. Retrieved August 9, 2020. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes - Sneak Preview". Game Player's PC Entertainment 5 (5): 26. October 1992. https://archive.org/details/GPPCEVol5No5/page/n27. 
  3. ↑ "The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes - Manual (1992)". https://www.mocagh.org/ea/lostfiles-manual.pdf. Retrieved April 10, 2020. 
  4. ↑ "Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes (1994) 3DO Credits". 2020. https://www.mobygames.com/game/3do/lost-files-of-sherlock-holmes/credits. Retrieved April 10, 2020. 
  5. ↑ "Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Serrated Scalpel - Panasonic 3DO - Manual (1994)". https://www.gamesdatabase.org/Media/SYSTEM/Panasonic_3DO//Manual/formated/Lost_Files_of_Sherlock_Holmes-_The_Case_of_the_Serrated_Scalpel_-_1994_-_Electronic_Arts.pdf. Retrieved April 10, 2020. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes Review". Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM Media, LLC) (66): 42. January 1995. 
  7. ↑ "Elementary, my dear Watson...and that's the problem.". PC Zone (17): 99. August 1994. https://archive.org/details/PC_Zone_17_August_1994/page/n97. 
  8. ↑ "The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes (3DO) Review". 3DO Magazine (Paragon Publishing) (1): 48. December 1994. https://archive.org/details/3-do-01/page/48/mode/2up. Retrieved April 7, 2022. 
  9. ↑ Ardai, Charles (February 1993). "Electronic Arts' The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes". Computer Gaming World: 42. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1993&pub=2&id=103. Retrieved 6 July 2014. 
  10. ↑ Walker, Brian; Syzmonik, Peter; Clarke, Theo; McKeown, Joan; McCullough, Joseph; Commander Crunch (January 1993). "The Best of 1992...". Computer Games Strategy Plus (27): 46, 48, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60. 
  11. ↑ AG Staff (December 30, 2011). "Top 100 All-Time Adventure Games". Adventure Gamers. https://adventuregamers.com/articles/view/18643. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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